Woman donates family tree for Quincy’s Christmas celebration

A blue spruce tree on Elm Street in Quincy will be cut down Saturday and brought to city hall to serve as the centerpiece for Quincy’s annual Christmas celebration next week. A Weymouth woman is donating the tree to the city in honor of her parents, Domenico and Palma Marinilli, who died in the late 1980s.

The parents of Dona Centofanti moved from Italy to Quincy more than 70 years ago. After buying a home on Elm Street, the couple planted a blue spruce tree in their front yard.

That spruce, now about 70 feet tall, will be cut down Saturday and brought to city hall to serve as the centerpiece for Quincy’s annual Christmas celebration. Centofanti, a Weymouth resident, is donating the tree to the city in honor of her parents, Domenico and Palma Marinilli, both of whom died in the late 1980s.

“We feel really honored to be able to do that,” Centofanti said.

Quincy will hold its annual tree-lighting celebration starting at 5 p.m. Nov. 29 – the day after Thanksgiving – off Hancock Street in Quincy Center. It will kick off a weekend full of holiday festivities, including Saturday’s parachuting-Santa event at Pageant Field and the city’s 61st annual Christmas parade on Sunday.

Centofanti, who owns the Elm Street property where the blue spruce stands, decided to donate the tree at the suggestion of her sister, Lina Stracco of Quincy. On Saturday, the tree will be moved to a newly sodded area next to the construction fencing in City Hall Plaza.

“It’s a very, very generous offer. It’s a beautiful tree,” said Christopher Cassani, executive director of the city’s park and forestry department.

Before the tree goes up downtown, the city’s arborist will do some cutting to reduce its height to about 35 feet. Officials don’t want it to be overwhelmingly tall.

Cassani said the city has been holding the tree-lighting event for 50 years. In some years, the tree has been donated; in others, the city has had to buy one, he said.

The festivities accompanying the tree-lighting event will be held under a tent outside McIntyre Mall and will feature strolling Victorian carolers, costumed characters, a puppet show, a sing-along and free hot chocolate and popcorn. Also, a “Dear Santa” mailbox will be set up so kids can send off their wish lists.

Patrick Ronan may be reached at pronan@ledger.com or follow on Twitter @PRonan_Ledger.